Sarah Cambidge

SOPRANO

In soprano Sarah Cambidge and tenor Kyle van Schoonhoven, the program boasts not just one but two singers with the stamina, muscle and sheer lung power to undertake the demanding music of Wagner and Strauss...Cambidge and van Schoonhoven distinguished themselves first individually – in excerpts from Strauss’ rarely heard “Die Ägyptische Helena” and Wagner’s “Parsifal,” respectively – and then together, bringing the evening to a close with a sumptuous traversal of the love duet from Act 2 of Wagner’s “Tristan und Isolde.” The path to Wagnerian mastery is long and arduous, and these two are clearly well on their way.”

San Francisco Chronicle

...presented by the San Francisco Opera Center, when Cambidge and van Schoonhoven found their musical destiny in the love duet, "Soll ich lauschen?', from Wagner's Tristan und Isolde. The kiss was replayed - and then some - by these two powerhouse singers... Well before the evening's Wagner finale, Cambidge had already given a dynamic, lustrous account of an aria from Strauss's Die Ägyptische Helena and pitched in on a Rossini chorus from Il Viaggio a Reims... Cambidge's soaring and searing mezzo, especially in the Strauss, stood out for this listener.

Steven Winn, San Francisco Classical Voice

Soprano Sarah Cambidge (Vancouver, B.C. Can.) is a second-year AF also destined for fame. Her liquid, pur voice is rich enough for Richard Strauss, and her aria from "Die Agyptische Helen" proved it. She also has some Wagner on the horizon, maybe Sieglinde? Or even Isolde? She ended the concert paired with robust second-year tenor Kyle van Schoonhoven (Lockport, NY) in a magnificent love duet from "Tristan und Isolde" that made it seem a strong possibility.

Phillip Campbell, Bay Area Reporter

The concert closed with the final love duet from Wagner's "Tristan and Isolde." Soprano Sarah Cambidge's performance was filled with perfect tone and clarity of diction. Her partner, tenor Kyle van Schoonhoven, sang in a bright yet strongly supported voice that surely indicated many more memorable performances to come.

Jesse Seguin, Theaterstorm

The quartet of top-ranking Angels First Class (Sarah Cambidge, Ashley Dixon, Amitai Pati, and Christian Pursell) performed admirably in mid-air, suspended by wire harnesses; Heggie wrote some of his best music for them, and the singers blend exquisitely in full-bodied, hymnal harmonies.

Joe Cadagin, San Francisco Classical Voice

SF Opera Adler Fellow Sarah Cambidge was a cutting and powerful Third Norn, dropping down to a stirring undertone as she predicted that 'eternal night will fall upon the gods.

John Masko, Parterre

Zambello’s Norns (Ronnita Miller, Jamie Barton and Sarah Cambidge) are the hapless ghosts in this machine and they couldn’t be better sung. Impeccable diction and voices of real substance get the opera off to a tremendously powerful start.

Clive Paget, Limelight: Australia's Classical Music and Arts Magazine

Götterdämmerung, the long denouement of the Ring, began Sunday afternoon with the three Norns, mezzo-sopranos Miller and Barton and soprano Sarah Cambidge, luminously recapitulating events amid greenery and a jumble of rubber cables.

James Ambroff-Tahan, SF Examiner

The prelude is pure early 2000s cyberpunk. The Norns... sing their knowledge – Ronnita Miller with huge access of sound, Jamie Barton with a chesty middle register, and Sarah Cambidge with resounding top notes – until the node for the cables falls in a shower of sparks.

Ilana Walder-Biesanz, Bachtrack

The two female trios that frame “Götterdämmerung” with ostentatious symmetry were both splendidly delivered — first the all-seeing Norns (Ronnita Miller, Jamie Barton and Sarah Cambidge)...

Joshua Kosman, San Francisco Chronicle

Miller (First Norn) and the very promising Sarah Cambidge (Third Norn) also offered a high vocal standard.

The three Norns (Ronnita Miller, Jamie Barton, and Sarah Cambidge) sang with distinction as they attempted to deal with a massive strand of cables.

James Bash, Northwest Reverb

Joined by current Adler Fellow Sarah Cambidge, Barton and Miller returned as Norns in a seamlessly done first scene in Götterdämmerung.

Harvey Steinman, Seen and Heard International

Lyric soprano Sarah Cambidge is debuting at LVO [Livermore Valley Opera] in her role as
Amelia...In “Ma dall’arido stelo
divulsa,” the first of Cambidge’s two big arias, she invokes God’s help with
high B-flats and a high C ... In Act III, she has to tame those emotions in her aria “Morro, ma prima in
grazia” where Amelia somberly pleads with her husband to let her see her son
one last time. In both arias, Cambidge jumps almost three octaves, deserving a
standing ovation in its own right, which the LVO audience delivered in rousing
fashion.

Sarah Bobson, The Independent

Amelia’s soliloquy showcases
the remarkably powerful yet mellifluous voice of Sarah Cambidge. The soprano
pulls out all stops in her mournful aria “Ma dall’arido stelo divulsa” as she
prays to overcome her conflict.

Victor Cordell, ForAllEvents

The audience favorites were surely the largest voices. Soprano Sarah Cambidge's 'Morrò, ma prima in grazia' (Un Ballo in Maschera) rang through the house. The aria highlighted her sweeter, softer tones as well as her resounding loud notes, and it gave her a chance to prove that she carries her vocal power throughout her range.

Ilana Walder-Biesanz, San Francisco Classical Voice

Sarah
Cambidge and Brad Walker shone in a duet from Verdi’s The Masked Ball,
and Cambidge sang memorably the title role in a duet from Strauss’ Arabella against
Andrew Manea’s Mandryka.

Janos Gereben, Opera West

Soprano Sarah Cambidge and heldentenor Kyle van
Schoonhoven were a commanding Elsa and Lohengrin; she is a fully fledged
Wagnerian, a Brünnhilde-in-waiting.

Caroline Crawford, Bay City News

Arguably, the biggest guns were brought out for ... the second half of the bill,
Canadian soprano Sarah Cambidge (Elsa) and tenor Kyle van Schoonhoven
(Lohengrin) from Lockport, NY filled their taxing responsibilities with
apparent ease … he thrilled with his full-throated and sweet tone. Cambidge
matched him with a bright voice, free of shrillness and charged with emotion.

Philip Campbell, Bay Area Reporter

She gave a versatile and commanding performance
with her depiction ranging from that of a vulnerable buoyant girl to a woman
disillusioned by the wrongdoings of society. Her powerful and agile soprano
voice carried her through the range of songs with ease and passion.